A Safe Cuttlefish Is a Happy Cuttlefish
by cynthash
Summary: A short oneshot I wrote for the Cuttlefish!Anna picture floating around. Super sappy, super fluffy, elsanna. Cover art is an unknown artist from /frz/.


Anna's Perspective

I'm not going to lie to you; I'm pretty scared right now. Why do you think I'm diving? Goodness knows- Actually, you know what? I'm going to start at the beginning again. The beginning of this shitty morning.

Okay, so I was just floating there, right? Typical day: all the crabs were zooming along the sea floor to their little caves. Anything to get away from me. It was fine. Until a dolphin showed up. Normally, I'm much closer to a reef, so I just hide there and try not to move. No such luck today, I guess. So as I was watching it, getting ready to die, I noticed something odd. I guess I just got super-amazing lucky, because it just glided right by me!

I was intrigued. I think anyone would be, if one of their greatest fears just zipped by, without taking the slightest glance at me. Okay, so it was more than a little off, I guess. It had this odd, spinning thing, attached to it's tail. And you wouldn't believe the ruckus it made! I just stayed out of sight, I was so shocked.

But as I watched it pass, I noticed its shadow, cloaking me in darkness. It had no fins. What kind of worthless, good-for-nothing dolphins have no fins? And yet it had a definite end. Let me clarify a bit, which would be easier if the water wasn't a bit muddy down here. Stupid anemones, and their stupid habit of picking up dirt and throwing it. Alright, so focus, Anna! Alright. I'm fine, I swear. Anyways.

So maybe I didn't see the fins because of the mud. Wait, mud? Huh, I guess the current here really is stronger than I had thought. Meh, it's fine. Just make sure there's noth- Dive!

Okay, whew. Maybe I'm like, the luckiest little squishy thing in the water, because that was TWO dolphin-ny things I've evaded today. Okay, so my day's not all bad. Huh. This one didn't have fins, either. Strange.

So I think I'm safe, right? Right. So I poke my eyes out, and what else do I see, but one of those big-starfishy-things, paddling straight at me. I've seen a lot of them in the past few weeks, but I don't know where they're from. They certainly don't live down here, unless I missed a cave or something while scoping out this space: they must live somewhere nearby. Anyways, back to the story.

I try to hide myself, right? I mean, these things; they leave little hard round glittery things everywhere, and they churn up all the water; they're not good news, whatever they are. But this one's closer. So I figure that if I've been so lucky twice already today, why not just take a risk, huh?

As it gets closer, I can see this one is a bit different. It has long, thin, lines of _something_ trailing behind its round eye-carrier-thing. I wonder if they're like jellyfish, and they use those to catch prey, or something. This one also has weird colours along its skin. Like, two triangles in front of it's body, and one on the back and the front, further back. I can't really tell what shade that is, but I can tell you that loud colours are usually meant to grab attention, down here. There are bulbs extending from its main body. Maybe that's where it keeps its brain? I only have one, so this thing must by a lot smarter than me.

As it gets closer, I propel myself back into my hole, so I can watch it pass. It doesn't notice me, but I'm looking at the walls of my little hole. Neat designs abound, when you let things just _happen_, I guess.

It comes back at me, so I just stop moving again, and I feel myself settle into the grime and sand at the bottom, and look back at it.

Elsa's Perspective

Gracefully tearing my way through the world down here, I twist my head to behold the sweet colours of a healthy reef. I sigh, and paddle my way through yet another puddle of **oh so fascinating seawater**. "Okay, I think, "maybe I am sounding ungrateful. But that doesn't give anyone the right to just drag their family all over, just because they're 'important marine biologists'."

A flicker to one side attracted my eyes, and I watched the cutest cuttlefish _ever_, holding itself down to the mucky bottom. Keeping its eyes trained on the jetskis above us, it didn't notice me at first, so I paddled towards it. Soon enough though, it shimmied its way into a little cubby. "Why do we spend so much time traipsing around these creatures' homes, if they don't even want to show us themselves?" I sighed and passed the poor animal, curling around to observe it trying to make sure it was safe.

When nothing happened, I thrust my way back to the surface for air and a bite to eat. "Probably seafood," I grumble, "because we 'deserve' to be the masters of everything. Yeah, right."

Anna's Perspective

Whew, it's gone. I eased my way out of my hidey-hole, and glanced around, trying to see if there were anymore strange things around. Satisfied, I shot into the comforting void I lived in, and started looking for some shrimp to munch while I found myself a cozy little cave to settle down in.

**timeskip of a day's time**

Well, that's a cave with pretty designs on the walls, a glittery thing that starfish-things like to drop, a few bits of intriguing old shells that were lying around the bottom, and a few shrimp carcasses to nom. I guess it's a nice little existence.

Alright, you want to know the real reason I haven't described any others of my own kind here? It's because I'm alone. We're usually loners a little, but I'm different. I don't want to explain how cuttlefish um, do... yeah. I'm not talking about that. Anyways, the point is, I don't like it. I tried it once, and I felt all sorts of gross, and the way that young male hung around me, I was starting to wonder if I'd ever have my own life. So, I decided to just float with the current, and hope it brought me to a nicer place. I guess this is nice enough.

In spite of the noise, big starfish-things, and the crap they leave everywhere, this place isn't so bad. It's warm, there's shrimp, there's no one bothering me here. Well, unless you count nurse sharks and dolphins, I guess. Yeah, I'm fine here.

Soon though, the same eye-carrier-thingie from yesterday appears. Now, I'm going to sound crazy here, but I still feel safe. I know, there's a long tentacle-thing stretching towards me, and yes, I see that it has five more min tentacles branching off it. Yeah, I'm crazy: there's no way I should feel safe like this, but I just don't feel threatened. I guess I'm ready to die.

So the invading things: they move a little weird, you know? Instead of smooth, sweeping strokes, they bat the void around them. As if there was something hard underneath their skin, keeping them from being graceful, you know? I should know, I have this hard shell-thing in my body. Maybe they have big shell-things throughout theirs?

So the tentacle-thing stops a few inches shy of me, but I really don't pay it much mind. I see these big, round eyes at the other end of the whole. Well, it could just be a really big fish. But fish don't have... whatever this big long thing is. Whatever.

This eye, it seems to be looking at me. It's sorta weird, watching something watch you. It makes me feel a bit cold, actually. That's sort of sad to think about, actually. So let's look at this tentacle-thing. It's obviously not hurting me yet, but if I've learned anything, it's that what you expect to happen usually doesn't, so let's take a risk. I'm ready to die anyways, right? Right.

I put a single tentacle to it's tip, and gently push on it, the look at it for any sign of reaction. There is none, so I look back up at the eye. Huh, it's wider. So I edge a tentacle around it this time, and stroke it lightly. Still no response, except a little curling motion. Hey, what do you know? I was right, they do have hard things under their skin. Huh.

So as I continue to stroke the thing with one, and then two, and then more arms, I notice it's pulling back. I swim back a bit, watching it with caution. So it's clear from the small cave, and I put out feelers to the floor, and put the bottom. There's a depression in the sand, so it was there, and I'm still alive.

Slowly moving upwards, I crane my arms and tentacles to the edge of the hole, and gaze out. It's that same starfish-thing from yesterday, but right next to me this time, instead of a little ways away. So I think it's a bit late to try to get away, and I'm ready to die, right? Right.

I stay there for a moment, bobbing around, and then I move out slowly. The eyes(there are two of them, held in a clear thing. I think.) widen a bit more, and the long tentacle-thing comes back to brush against my side. It actually feels quite nice, you know? I think I feel safe with this thing – whatever it is anyway.

I wrap my arms around its... arm? And proceed to rub my beak on it. But all is not well, and I feel it quiver under me: it must be afraid, so I look around myself. There's nothing around: so it must be afraid of... me? No, no, no, that's not right! But there's no way to communicate my thoughts to this creature, so I pull back.

Slowly I back away from the person before me, and I float there, simply waiting to not be feared. If that's possible at this point anyways. Eventually its arms float towards me, and I feel the ends of prodding feelers, tracing each of the spots on my back. Caressing me. I feel warm, and swivel my body back to the star-shaped body.

There are spots on it; very faint ones, unlike the ones all over me. I push my body up against the alien creature's, and find a comfy spot between the two oblong parts on its front. Surprisingly, they're very soft, and I can run my feelers along the skin of this person. My friend, I decide. This person is my friend. Never forcing me into anything, respecting my fears, and above all else, projecting safety into me.

Slowly, the arms from before envelope me, and I turn myself in place, so that I fit in the curve of my friend's body. I'll explore later. Right now, I just want to be here, with someone who doesn't demand anything of me. Right now, I can just keep feeling safe.


End file.
